The present invention relates to a drumstick of the type commonly employed as a means to strike various percussion instruments such as drums, cymbals, and the like.
Normally, drumsticks are employed in pairs, and it is important that when so employed a pair of drumsticks be matched with regard to their weight, balance, and tone producing characteristics, as well as being linearly straight and true. In addition, drumsticks should primarily be durable in the respect that repeated impacts in use will not result in damage thereto when employed in the manner intended. Secondly, drumsticks should be stable with regard to dimensional as well as resilient rebound characteristics from the head of a percussion instrument so that the sound-producing mechanism generated by the impact of a drumstick therewith will be enhanced and not dampened by the striking. Thirdly, the drumstick should be maneuverable with regard to rapid facility by the user in respect to handling characteristics.
Traditionally, drumsticks have been fabricated from various moods which are readily available, relatively inexpensive and easily worked, as well as having proven to be suitable in the respect of providing acceptable resilient rebound and handling characteristics, but, however, unsuitable in respect of durability in that wooden drumsticks tend to chip and crack over a relatively short period of use, as well as not being stable in the respect that wooden drumsticks warp with changes in temperature and humidity, in addition to the fact that wooden drumsticks are also difficult to match with regard to weight, balance, and tone producing characteristics.
In an effort to maintain handling characteristics and yet at the same time enhance durability and stability features, various disclosures teach the employment of combinations of wood and non-wood materials in the fabrication of drumsticks, such as those exemplified by the plastic and wood combinations taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,175,450 to Criscuolo dated Mar. 30, 1965, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,730,570 to Brochstein dated May 1, 1973. However, in both of the aforementioned disclosures, although the drumsticks shown therein teach improvements over a wooden drumstick per se, the respective durabilities and stabilities thereof are necessarily limited by that of the wooden component of the combinations.
Additionally, non-wood material combinations have been taught in the fabrication of drumsticks in an effort to overcome the aforementioned limitations inherent to a wooden component drumstick, such as the metal and plastic drumstick combinations exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 3,146,659 to Robba et al dated Sept. 1, 1964; U.S. Pat. No. 3,165,964 to Stys et al dated Jan. 19, 1965; and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,489,052 to Colyer et al dated Jan. 13, 1970. Although these disclosures teach improved drumsticks over the aforementioned plastic and wood combination drumsticks, the methods of producing the same necessarily require more complicated and expensive manufacturing operations than are otherwise required in producing either a wooden drumstick or a drumstick embodying the principles of the present invention.
Other disclosures teach the use of non-wood materials which may or may not be employed in combination in the fabrication of drumsticks, such as the use of a synthetic resin having textile fibers embedded therein to form a drumstick having a bore in the shaft thereof which is packed with an acoustical foam material as exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 3,147,660 to Brilhart dated Sept. 8, 1964, or as exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 3,301,119 to Gilbert dated Jan. 31, 1967, showing the use of tapered tubular aluminum to form a drumstick per se with threaded or press fit affixment of an aluminum head thereto. However, the methods of producing the same necessarily require more complicated and expensive manufacturing operations than are otherwise required in producing either a wooden drumstick or a drumstick embodying the principles of the present invention.
The shortcomings and limitations set forth in teachings of the previous disclosures are obviated by a drumstick comprising the present invention, and a substantially improved, simply produced, and relatively inexpensive drumstick of increased durability is provided, the details of which are set forth hereinafter.